The Beginning of the End
by thunder3swords
Summary: A One Piece One Shot set at the end of their journey...my own little tribute to ZoNa


_**Disclaimer:**__** I do not own One Piece or its characters but if I did, I could imagine an ending like this one. **_

_**Author's Note:**__** I wrote this a while ago in a random book and forgot all about it. I found it today and thought I would type it up…making a few minor adjustments on the way ;) **_

_**For all you ZoNa fans out there. Here is a One Piece 'One Shot'. **_

**The Beginning of the End**

They stood in silence staring at the scene before them as the place crumbled and burned, praying for the safety of their friends. One by one figures rose out of the flames; comrades, members of the alliance, marines and enemies alike. With each one the remaining straw hats held in their breathes, hands held in tight fists as their hope threatened to consume them when the nauseating reality hit home that it wasn't their friends.

"Damn it! What the hell is taking them so long?!" Sanji muttered, too anxious to care about the taste of chewed cigarette now entering his mouth from biting down so hard. He glanced over at their navigator standing by his side. Her hands gripped the railing so tightly that her knuckles went white and her face was pale and clammy in the flickering light. Her gaze was fixed on where they had exited the island and it did not waver. She was like a statue and just as unresponsive. He wanted to reassure her, reach out to her and place a hand on her shoulder, but he froze in mid action. His actions would only be a hindrance and would not heal the wounds of a heart. All they could do was wait and waiting was torture.

…

Hours passed by and Nami did not move from her post. She would not respond to any of her friends, not even Robin.

"Damn Marimo!" Sanji spewed out as he continued on his third attempt to make dinner. They were all weak and tired and injured and still mourning for friends lost, yet he knew they needed to eat. They had to survive. But he couldn't concentrate. For the first time in his life Sanji ruined and burnt attempts he made, wasting food.

"Shit!" he shouted as he cut his finger with a knife. Anger then consumed him and he proceeded to throw the knife, board and everything else against the wall before resting a hand on his eyes and trying to fight back the tears that threatened to come.

"You okay Sanji?" a weakened and worried voice asked from behind him. Sanji wiped his face and turned to see Usopp standing in the doorway, clearly drawn by the noise. He was in pretty bad shape; a broken leg with bandages practically all over his body and crutches holding him upright. A bit like himself, worse for wear, although in reality it could have been a lot worse for them if he hadn't been given the task of getting their friends out of there. He gritted his teeth at the memory of the swordsman's back after he knocked Nami out and passed her to the cook, ordering him to get her to safety before turning to face his opponent. Zoro was already struggling to stand on his own two feet and was covered head to toe in his own blood. Nami had tried to beg him to leave, but the idiot had something he had to see through to the end. The image of Zoro's back was the last thing Sanji saw as the environment collapsed around them. _Tsch, _Sanji thought running a hand through his hair, _'he always has to be the hero'._

"N-need any help?" Usopp asked, clearly wanting to occupy his mind with something as he started to help pick up the thrown items and hand them back to the cook who accepted them begrudgingly.

"Thanks" Sanji said, "how are the others?"

Usopp sat down at one of the benches and sighed, "Chopper has seen to everyone now I think" he said, "Luffy's injuries are pretty bad but with Law's help they think he will make a recovery though needs to be careful. He won't be able to stretch for a while, that's for sure."

Sanji remained silent. Luffy had been emotionally distraught when he discovered one of them had been left behind. He was determined to go back out there and find the swordsman himself, but it was too late. They place was in ruins. They had already lost so many people that had helped them. Like Aokiji and Jinbei, not to mention Luffy's father. It was already too much for them to bear. They knew the final fight for the One Piece and against the world government was never going to be easy. They had all accepted that they would likely lose their lives to their dreams. They just didn't know how harsh the reality of war would be and how it would leave them all feeling so…empty.

"Franky's body was pretty much in pieces. It won't ever be the same" Usopp continued, "some shipwrights from other crews helped give him some maintenance…Robin is with him now" Usopp paused, "Brook is still missing to" he finished.

Sanji gripped the edge of the table firmly in his hands.

Usopp looked out of the window over at their navigator, who still remained motionless, "Has she moved at all?" he asked out loud, knowing the answer. "I have never seen her like this before".

Sanji followed his friends gaze and gritted his teeth, "That bastard better be alive or I will go to hell and bring him back myself!" he stated vehemently, before sighing, knowing bringing the dead back was impossible. He closed his eyes and fought tears as he looked at his fists on the table knowing he may have to accept the inevitable, "I would do anything, if it meant seeing her smile again".

Usopp watched his friend slowly break down in front of him and collapse into the seat he stood near. He went to reach out a hand to console him but found him self struggling to fight back tears as well. He turned and looked out of the window again. "Some warrior of the sea I turned out to be" he muttered to himself as the tears flowed down his cheeks.

…

Nami was not aware of how cold her body had become. She was oblivious of everything around her, locking aside all emotion, all thought and all fear. Her pure focus was on nothing but the site before her. Even when night turned to day and day into night and the flames of hell itself began to diminish, she did not move. She refused all food and drink and remained a haunted figure on a ghost like ship.

Luffy watched his friend with a deep sorrow in his heart. Out of them all here he blamed himself for what happened and for putting them all through this, even though they had all acknowledged they weren't fighting for him, but for themselves. He watched painfully as Nami failed to respond to Sanji for the third time that day. Luffy initially was willing to let it slide. After all, they all had their own way of mourning and nothing would be the same now. Without his friends his victory hardly seemed like a fair win. But even he had come to a point where enough was enough.

The others watched as Luffy slowly limped over to the princess, their ally. She had played a crucial part in his own recovery and helped him unite the remaining forces. She looked at him with genuine concern. He took a blanket from her and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She looked at him with tired, black rimmed eyes and nodded in understanding as he proceeded to move past her and to the woman he had come to respect and see as one of his family.

Nami did not move when the blanket was placed around her. To prevent it from falling off again Luffy held it in place and held onto her tightly, pinning her to the side of the railing as he stood behind her.

"Enough Nami" he whispered into her ear.

Nami, if it were even possible, went more rigid.

"It's over" Luffy whispered again, gritting his teeth and swallowing the lump in his own throat. It was hard to accept but it had been days now…the likelihood of survival was slim.

He felt Nami move within his hold, but he didn't let go.

"No" Nami struggled to get any word out as all sound caught in her throat.

"Nami please" Luffy begged with her, holding onto her tighter and hiding his own wet ridden face in her shoulder.

"We can't give up" Nami screamed, tears now forcing their way through her as she tried to fight him off. Luffy just held on even tighter.

"No!" "No" "pl..ea..se" Each of Nami's screams tore at the straw hats in turn. They turned away from their clearly distraught friend who now collapsed on the floor with their captain. Tears fell down each of their faces. Vivi stood with a hand over her mouth as she cried for her friend's pain. Seeing Nami like this was hard, really hard to watch.

…

"Where is Luffy?!" the voice of one of Law's men shouted as he ran through the ship. His voice sounded full of panic.

"Wooh now! Calm down, what is it?" Franky asked stopping the man in his tracks with a raven haired beauty by his side. They were aware that Luffy was busy and did not want to be disturbed at this point in time.

"It's…It's" The man was out of breath and struggled to get to the point. Franky looked at Robin who place a reassuring hand on his arm and then looked at the man.

"Have you found something?" she asked. The man looked at her and nodded insanely.

Franky gripped hold of the man tightly and shook him, "What, what have you found?" he shouted with a new found sense of hope desperately not wanting to be quenched.

"What's going on?" Usopp asked as he came out on deck along with the little doctor.

"R..roronoa…and soul king" the man managed to get out, "we found them!" he finished.

Franky's expression changed to one of shock as he slowly lowered the man to the ground.

Usopp and Chopper immediately went to call on Luffy. Luffy slammed the door on his way out of his quarters and scanned the area for the messenger. Vivi appeared behind him, concern on her face. Luffy ran over to the man and immediately grabbed him by the front of his clothing.

"Is this a joke?" Luffy asked. The man shook his head. "Where are they? What is their condition?" their captain demanded.

The man quickly over came the shock of how rough the straw hats had been with him and identified from their expressions that honesty was the best policy.

"Their condition is critical sir, but they are alive" He then managed to get an arm free and pointed to the heart pirate's ship, "Captain Law is seeing to them now".

Luffy immediately dropped the man and headed over to the neighbouring ship.

"What is going on?" Sanji asked, exiting the kitchen with Nami following him like a shadow.

He looked at each of his friends in turn, each were speechless.

Vivi turned and looked at the cook then at her friend, "They are in critical condition…but they found them" she explained.

"Found who?" Sanji asked, he then paused as it suddenly dawned on him. Vivi watched as Nami's expression changed into one of shock. Her face went pasty white.

Sanji went to move and chase after his captain when he felt a weight grab hold of him/ He turned just in time to catch the falling form of their navigator.

…

Several days and nights went by. Although the atmosphere amongst the friends had perked up slightly there was still a lot to be sorted out and repaired. Their injuries were far from okay and that became more evident when Luffy caught a look at the swordsman. As quickly as he was glad to see him alive, when he realised the severity of his condition it had to be questioned whether he would want to be alive. In the end Luffy had to make the decision and he trusted in his friends to help him through.

Luffy had refused anyone access to the medical lab, including Nami, to prevent his friends from seeing Zoro in such a vulnerable way. He knew the memory of him lying on that bed would haunt them forever if he didn't make it out of the surgery that Chopper and Law had to put him through. So instead they all sat on tether hooks waiting…and waiting was torture.

When the time was eventually alright Luffy enabled each of them to see the swordsman and supervise him while his doctors rested. Franky and Usopp themselves soon proved to be an invaluable asset in helping the man to recover and start some rehabilitation. They had all been over joyed when they heard that he was finally awake. Chopper had his work cut out for him trying to convince all their friends and fans to take it easy and go in one at a time…that is, all except for a single female.

Nami had not visited Zoro once. She couldn't bring herself to do it. She avoided most of them and occupied herself with nothing but map work, cleaning and getting them out of storms as they tried to sail as a fleet to a safe island. She had collapsed from exhaustion when she heard that Zoro was alive, yet was not stupid. She knew from Luffy's face that his condition was far from perfect and she was scared.

…

Luffy stood in the medical room looking out of the window as Nami turned away and avoided a call from Vivi to come over and join them. He sighed; his gaze was serious and full of contemplation.

Brook moved his head from his book to drink more milk. He was very much aware of his friends silence and decided to respect it. His body, being made of only bone, was broken in several places, but he had discovered it wasn't anything a bit of milk couldn't fix in time. He sensed that the atmosphere was not the right time to tell a joke or lighten the mood.

The silence in the room was growing uncomfortable.

Zoro was sat upright on a bed with Chopper redressing some of his wounds. He looked up at his silent captain. The lack of enthusiasm and excitement in his captain's demeanour made Zoro feel a little uneasy. He looked from Chopper and then to Luffy, "So…how is everyone?" he asked.

Chopper looked at him and at Luffy and back again. When his captain said nothing he decided to answer himself, "um…okay" he said hesitantly, not knowing what he should and should not say.

"Good" Zoro sighed, though couldn't help get the impression something was wrong. When he saw the look Luffy now gave him, he knew he was right.

"Look Luffy I am sorry. I didn't mean to cause concern" he said genuinely.

Luffy sat down slowly on a chair next to the bed, his eyes slightly hidden by the brim of his hat, "It isn't me you should be apologising to" he said with a cold tone to his voice. Luffy was angry and doing his best to keep it in check.

Zoro did not know what to make of the serious tone from his captain. Chopper inched away slowly, sensing something was wrong.

"Hey guys!" Usopp called from the doorway, being immediately silenced by the atmosphere of the room. He caught the look on Chopper's face and put up his hand to stop his friends from following him in through the doorway. They all observed hesitantly from afar.

"Zoro" Luffy's voice held a serious tone, "I made a promise we would never do anything to harm Nami or make her cry" he looked Zoro in the eye, "we failed".

Zoro gritted his teeth and turned away from the accusing glare of his captain. Nami cried? Because of him? He swallowed a lump in his throat and fought down a nauseating feeling in the pit of his stomach. She was mad at him…that was why she had not come to see him. "Is she alright?" he asked hesitantly, turning to look at Luffy once more and being met in the face by a punch.

Zoro flew backwards off the bed and onto the floor, smashing things as they went. He held onto the side of his face and wiped away blood from his lip. He looked up at an angry Luffy. Luffy was being held back by Chopper, Franky, Usopp and Sanji.

"You don't get it!" Luffy shouted at his friend, Zoro's eyes widened, "You were so willing to die you didn't think about what was being left behind!"

They were all shocked at his testament.

"I have never seen Nami in so much pain!" Luffy's tone dropped and his body slowly became limp.

"Luffy.." Vivi's soft voice whispered from the side as she placed a hand on their captain's arm. Robin looked at them all in silence. The men loosened their hold on their friend and looked at the ground. Their expressions showed that they all thought the same.

"We couldn't get through to her. It was like she lost her soul" Luffy finished, wiping a tear from his cheek. Zoro remained motionless.

Luffy stepped towards his friend and the others went to dive in between them, worried about what he may do. He reached out a hand and the swordsman looked at it cautiously, "You better fix it and make it right Zoro" Luffy threatened.

Zoro's expression turned from one of shock to a small smile. He grabbed onto his captain's hand. Franky and Chopper helped him to stand as Luffy pulled him up. "I will try Luffy, believe me, I will try"

Luffy hit his friend on the back and almost forced the man to lose his balance. "Welcome back"

They all gave a sigh of relief and started to laugh as Luffy showed his well known grin for the first time in a very long time.

…

Nami boarded the Sunny after her daily visits to some of the other ships of their new found fleet. She had to do that a lot lately as there weren't enough snails to go around. Luckily the other navigators were respectful of her professional expertise.

When her feet touched the deck she noticed that everyone had suddenly gone very quiet. It was something she had gotten used to a lot over the past few weeks. It was as if some of them didn't know how to engage with her. Even Sanji had backed of a little. She didn't deny that it bothered her, but she was in no mood to deal with it either. She had sworn to get them back to their homes safely and that she will do. She paused when she dropped a couple of maps on the ground. Bending to pick them up she was suddenly aware of a presence behind her.

"Nami" the voice of the swordsman froze Nami in place. For days she had been trying to prepare herself to see him, to speak with him, to even look at him, but she couldn't. She knew it was stupid, but she couldn't do it. She bit hard down on her lower lip and scrunched the maps in her arms up against her chest tightly as she closed her eyes and tried to fight back the tears that tried to consume her. She chastised herself for being so weak, such a coward and an emotional wreck. She didn't want him to see her like this and urged her legs to move.

Zoro could see that Nami's body was shaking. "Nami?" he spoke her name again in a concerned tone as he took a strained step towards her, fighting against the pain that surged through his limps in the process.

Nami jerked when she heard the sound of metal scraping against wood - The chink of a metallic limb. A painful reminder of what he lost in the battle. She could hear the strain in his breathing as he tried to reach her. Gripping hold of the contents in her arms more tightly and becoming angry that she couldn't get her legs to move underneath her, she shook her head and shouted, "STOP!"

Zoro paused in his actions. He allowed for a moment of silence. He could hear her crying. It took all his energy to stand and not grab her close to him right there and then.

"There…there are so many things I want to say…" she finally spoke up.

Zoro took another step.

"I…I just…didn't know how to say it…" she continued.

Zoro moved again, stopping when he saw her back stiffen.

"And you were never alone" she made an excuse.

Zoro smiled, "We are alone now" he offered. Nami wiped her face with her hand and scanned the area briefly. She froze when she felt his presence right behind her.

"Luffy grabbed them all and hustled them somewhere" he explained as if reading her mind as to where they had all suddenly gone. She could feel his breath on her skin.

"Nami, I have something to say and I need you to hear me out" he said.

She nodded slowly, remaining silent and still unable to move. Instead she stared at the ground and their shadows.

"Nami, what happened back there, I'm sorry…Luffy and the others told me that everyone thought I was dead. The impact it had. Everything…" he trailed off a little. "Nami, I didn't mean to hurt you. I just wanted to protect you" his voice practically begged her to believe him. Her silence was harsh but it was something he was willing to endure if she would only just look at him.

He reached out to her and touched her arm. She turned slightly towards his embrace.

He looked down at her but she was unable to look him in the eye and tried to hide her face with the papers in her arms. He couldn't deny that this small action hurt him.

"Is that all?" Nami asked with a hint of bitterness to her tone. Zoro paused in his movements, taken aback by her sudden coldness. She moved away from his arms as they reached out to support her. A painful expression spread across his face. She looked at him then for the first time. Her eyes were red and swollen, glistening brightly.

Nami looked at him from head to toe. Her expression turned from hurt and anxiety into one of anger. Zoro understood. It was a shock for him to. An artificial arm and leg was not something he had been planning on needing, yet if it wasn't for Franky and Usopp he wouldn't be able to walk again.

Zoro was completely taken by surprise when she suddenly slapped him hard across the face. She then started to throw the objects she had been holding at him.

"Idiot!" He flinched a little as an ink pot went over his head.

"Moron!" she screamed as maps hit his torso.

"Cretin!" she coughed as hands hit his chest.

He caught her arms and tried to settle her.

"What the hell do you take me for?!" she wailed. He was confused by her outburst.

"Don't you think I knew that?" she said, stopping her assault and gripping onto his arms with all her might to steady herself. "We all knew that. You were fighting to protect us. It is what we all swore to do. So why are you apologising?" her breathing was rapid and her actions slowed down.

"Nami, I…" Zoro didn't know what to say.

"If anyone should apologise it's me!" she continued, "I felt so helpless. You were suffering and I couldn't do anything." Her knees buckled slightly as she leaned into him, gripping his shirt.

"Nami its okay" he tried to console her.

Nami pushed away from his chest, "No it's not!" she screamed, "I thought you were dead! Don't you get it?! I suddenly realised I didn't want to live if I couldn't have you in my life!" she shouted at him irrationally.

Zoro stared at her and then laughed suddenly. His reaction surprised her and she stood motionless.

"What's so funny?" she snapped.

"I love you to" he answered. Immediately her lips began to quiver as new tears flowed.

He wiped the tears from her swollen red cheeks and lifted her chin with his metal hand, stroking a strand of hair behind her ear with his other. She leant into his hands and tried to force back sobs. He gently massaged the base of her neck and kissed her tenderly on the forehead. Her grip on him tightened and she moved her body in closer. He kissed her on the cheek. She moved her head slightly, sniffing a little as she got a bit of a handle of her breathing. "Baka" she whispered. He smiled at her then placed both hands behind her neck and drew her into a soft, yet firm kiss, sending goose bumps down her spine.

He pulled away and looked at her. She finally had a little sparkle back in her eyes as she returned his gaze. It was heart warming for him to know that he put it there and he swore then to himself that he will never let it burn out again.

"I have been wanting to do that for a long time" he said with a grin as he stroked her hair.

"Why didn't you?" she asked as sobs began to die down.

He shrugged, "Thought you'd add it to my debt" he grinned.

Nami spontaneously elbowed him in the ribs and he flinched back in pain. Realising what she had done she immediately regretted it. "Shit, Zoro, I'm Sorry!" she pleaded.

He coughed and lifted a hand up as if to say 'it's okay'.

"DAMN IT!" she shouted at herself. He looked up at her.

"Why won't they stop?!" she demanded as more tears flowed uncontrollably from her. She collapsed into his arms, "I was so scared!" she stated.

He tightened his hold around her and leant his head into her shoulder, breathing her in, "so was I" he replied.

…

Zoro remained seated on the deck with the woman he loved embedded in his chest until her tears finally subsided. When she stopped she sat up and rested her forehead on his. She traced her hands across his arms, impressed with her friend's craftsmanship and grateful to them to. She sat in his lap and traced the side of his neck with her hand, before tracing a finger over his mouth and causing him to look down at her. She reached up and forcibly kissed him. He was taken by surprise at first but soon held onto her and kissed her back. When they pulled away and caught each others gaze they both started to grin happily.

"So does this mean you've made up?" Luffy's voice shouted out from the side lines.

"Shhh! Honestly you have no decorum!" Usopp hissed.

"But I'm hungry!" Luffy whined.

"Yoohoohoo, so romantic!" Brook announced.

"Damn bastard, if he ever harms her I will kill him myself" Sanji spat.

"Sanji, meat!" Luffy called out.

"I heard you the first time!" Sanji yelled back.

"Nothing like a happy ending" Robin spoke up. Vivi nodded in agreement as Franky attempted a 'SUPER' sign, almost collapsing and needing the support of the two women to help him up.

Chopper stood and watched his friends, tears filling his eyes as he ran over and jumped on Zoro's head. Finally able to put professionalism aside and show how happy he was his friend was alive.

Nami and Zoro looked at each other then burst out into laughter.

"Hey don't forget me" Luffy shouted. One by one they were joined in a group hug followed by the biggest party they had ever had.

…

**A/N: I had to expand on this a little as my original draft was all over the place. I hope you like this as much as I do. **

**Wouldn't it be great if such an ending happened? Every story needs some kind of sacrifice, sure, but if it came to my favourite pair, it would be tragic. **

10


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